To some, Antonio Conte and Tottenham will be considered a mismatch.
Conte is a proven winner, lifting trophies in three of his last four managerial posts. Spurs last tasted glory in 2008.
But here we are, it looks like the Italian will be appointed as successor to Nuno Espirito Santo.
This may be the biggest challenge of the 52-year-old’s managerial career yet as Spurs find themselves in disarray on the pitch.
He was once an enemy of the north London club having beaten them to the Premier League title at Chelsea in 2016/17 and also beat them in the FA Cup semi-finals in the same campaign.
Nevertheless, Spurs are a club Conte appears to have always had a lot of respect for.
He said in April 2017: “I think Tottenham must stop being considered an underdog because Tottenham are now a great power in English football.
“I think it’s the right moment to finish talking about them and considering him [Mauricio Pochettino] an underdog and to find his excuse.”
Conte will have a big to-do list if he does take the job, including getting Harry Kane back on form. But after that it’ll be all about getting up the Premier League table.
To rub salt in the wounds for Spurs, the feeling at north London rivals Arsenal is positive, with Mikel Arteta’s men unbeaten in their last nine matches.
But Conte has been provoked by Arsenal in the past as a 3-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium was identified as a key moment in his Chelsea side winning the league.
Chelsea begun the season with the more traditional four defenders in the starting XI but a loss at home to Liverpool and a shambolic performance against the Gunners which saw them concede three goals in the first half prompted a switch to a back three.
It worked wonders, sparking a 13-match winning streak in the league, taking them to the top of the Premier League.
“The first time was during the Arsenal game,” said Conte, who had used the formation at Juventus and with Italy, in February 2017.
“Never [with these players in pre-season]. To tell you the truth, in my mind there was always this option.
“I knew that I had the players for this system, but we’d never tried this solution in our training sessions. I always played with four at the back, then 4-2-4, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3…
“It’s not as simple to say a change in formation took us to the top. It has taken work. We know all the work we did in the past, and we’re doing now with the team to try and improve this system.
“But I only decided to do it ten minutes into the second half at Arsenal. I’m happy I did because, now, we are top of the league and, back then, we were eight points behind Manchester City. That just shows the situation can change very quickly.”
The winning run was actually ended by Spurs but the Blues were already on the road to become champions, as they won the Premier League trophy at a canter.
And perhaps that’s why Conte may subscribe to the idea that he can make Spurs ‘a power in English football’ again.